I was both shocked and saddened when I turned on the TV Saturday and saw that our global community suffered another devastating natural disaster. Still reeling from the earthquake in Haiti, we are now faced with the very real needs of the people of Chili in the wake of last weekend's 8.8 quake. The danger for the people of Haiti is that the news cycles and public interest will now turn to Chili and the continuing needs of the Haitian people will be forgotten.

Yet, it gives me hope that the people of the United Methodist Church (that's you and me!) have already responded to the needs in Chili, while maintaining our presence in Haiti. Let us continue to be in prayer for the needs of our brothers and sisters around the globe.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

United Methodists were scrambling to respond to a massive earthquake that struck Chile early on Feb. 27 and prompted tsunami warnings across the Pacific region.

The magnitude 8.8 earthquake, which hit about 60 miles northwest of the town of Chillán, left nearly 150 people dead, according to news reports, including at least three people swept into a large wave on an island 400 miles off the coast of Chile. Santiago, the capital, is 200 miles northeast of the epicenter.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in central Chile, and the quake was felt in neighboring countries as far away as Brazil, according to news reports.

The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, an UMCOR emergency response executive, said the agency had exchanged e-mails with Juan Salazar, president of Ministerio Social Methodista in Chile, to offer assistance....

The earthquake struck at 3:34 a.m. and reports of damage continued to come in all day. The force of the earthquake was enough to jolt the 94-year-old mother of the Rev. Oscar Carrasco, a district superintendent in the United Methodist Northern Illinois Conference, from her bed in Curacautín.

Joyce Carrasco, Oscar’s wife, reported that they had heard his mother was OK, but that his sister’s house next door was heavily damaged. Her mother-in-law is keeping the family focused in prayer and she feels the family is blessed to be able to be together and prepare a meal. "Thank goodness for fire wood while Curacautín is isolated. … bridges are out. There is a tense calm," Carrasco said. "Still waiting to hear more news."

A United Methodist volunteer-in-mission group from Wisconsin, working in Chile since Feb. 17, was reported to be safe. The team was doing repair work at the Agricultural School of La Granja in the town of Nueva Imperial.

Hazelwood said the Methodist Church in Chile will be better able to respond to the earthquake because of disaster training that he and Melissa Crutchfield, an UMCOR colleague, conducted there in October. The autonomous denomination has some 15,000 members.

About 20 church members, representing different districts, participated in the three-day disaster preparedness and emergency response training, which also allowed for networking with local authorities and emergency response partners.

The plan is to create a humanitarian response system in Chile in collaboration with UMCOR and the Chilean Oficina Nacional de Emergencia del Ministerio del Interior. “We have a great relationship with the people in Chile and the church in Chile,” Hazelwood added.

Hazelwood and Crutchfield had intended to return to Chile in January to sign a memorandum of understanding with the church, he said, but the trip was postponed because of the earthquake in Haiti. Financial support can be made to Chile Emergency Advance # 3021178.

Gifts can also be made by check to UMCOR and mailed to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. For local church and Annual Conference credit, place your gift in the offering plate on Sundays. Please indicate in the memo line of the check that it is for the Chile Emergency.